How important is gaming performance when choosing a laptop?

A few years ago, when I first joined XDA, I wrote a guide on ten things you should do with a new Windows PC. Among those tips, I suggested deleting whatever partitions were created by your laptop manufacturer and using a single partition. A few people called me out saying that there is a use for multiple partitions, specifically separating the OS files from your data, so in case the OS gets corrupted, you can reinstall Windows without losing everything. I stand by my opinion, though. I think multiple partitions just make things unnecessarily complicated, and in most cases, you can reinstall Windows these days while keeping your personal files. Do you prefer using multiple partitions on your PC? Aside from dual-booting, do you think there’s any reason to do it?

I may call myself a hardcore desktop user, but there’s no denying that a laptop was responsible for my downward spiral into the world of tech. As a kid, I loved tinkering with the Dell Inspiron 8500, which was more of a family laptop than something I had full sovereignty over. After going through similar non-gaming laptops for almost a decade, I finally made the switch to a desktop, as I wanted the extra oomph that my laptops were unable to provide. And I haven’t looked back ever since. What about you? What was the laptop that kickstarted your journey into the computing landscape?

Messaging is an essential part of our lives, but with so many platforms out there, it’s almost impossible to use just one app. With an app like Beeper, you can bring most of your conversations under the same umbrella, which is exactly what I’ve done. Whether it’s on my phone or PC, Beeper is my go-to for all my messaging needs, since I can have my WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Telegram, and SMS contacts all in the same place. But what about you? Do you use multiple apps, or do you keep all your contacts on the same platform?

Oftentimes, writing tutorials for XDA involves me doing things I would never normally do, or things I simply have to undo after I’ve done all the testing. But last week, I was asked to write about how to turn an old PC into a smart home hub, and to my surprise, the process of setting up Home Assistant was very rewarding. After setting up my own server, all my Google speakers and Chromecast were already on the list so I could manage playback on those devices. But with some work later on, I even added full-blown TV remotes for both of my smart TVs, which really turned this from a fun little side project into an actual useful tool. It even supports Wake-on-LAN magic packets, so I can also turn the TVs on after a bit of extra setup. I don’t yet have a ton of smart devices in my home, but I love how I can have all these things in one place, and what’s more, running locally so I don’t need an internet connection for everything. Do you use Home Assistant? What kind of devices have you set up

Although virtual reality never managed to revolutionize the gaming industry, it’s still dear to my heart. Even after all this time, I love putting on my Oculus Meta Quest 2 and going for a quick run in Until You Fall or finishing a quest or two in the VR versions of Fallout 4 and Skyrim. But on the rare occasion when I have more than a few hours to spare, I often whip out my driving wheel and launch a modded version of Assetto Corza to drive on community-created free-roam maps. And let me tell you, VR was made for sim racing enthusiasts. Of course, my (sim) driving skills are far from perfect, and I still have trouble pulling off the more advanced moves with an HMD strapped to my head. But VR is what introduced me to the sim-racing rabbit hole, and it’s my favorite way to play Assetto Corsa and Automobilista 2.

Is there anything for your PC that you absolutely can’t live without? I don’t just necessarily mean something like a mouse or keyboard, I mean something specific like the brand of mouse that you use or an additional extra like a monitor arm. For me, it’s two-fold; I can’t live without a monitor arm anymore and I definitely can’t live without my VAXEE XE-S wireless gaming mouse. It’s the best I’ve used, and the monitor arm clears up so much space on my desk!